Anjelica Elaiza Geronimo

Sample Writing

Ratified ILO Convention: C189: Domestic Workers Convention, 2011

The International Labour Organization ("ILO") Convention No. 189: Domestic Workers
Convention classifies a Domestic Worker as someone who engages in domestic work as an employment
or occupation, and not someone who does domestic work occasionally or sporadically. This ILO
Convention stipulates the Members who ratify the same to promote human rights, freedom of association,
collective bargaining, elimination of discrimination, and child labor concerning domestic work
occupation. It also reiterated the responsibility of a Member country to ensure that the domestic workers
are in a safe and healthy environment, free of abuse, such as physical and psychological, considering the
unique characteristics of the domestic workers' job. In addition, the convention stated that the protection
of domestic workers against abusive practices of private employment agencies ("PEA") should be the
responsibility of a Member country, which includes giving PEAs and employers of domestic workers, and
its household, a clear set of rules, regulations, and duties toward domestic helpers, and set penalties for
the violation of these. Moreover, per the same, domestic workers should not have less favorable
conditions compared to other workers in general, such as having social security protection, "access to
courts, tribunals and other dispute resolution mechanisms." (ILO, 2010).

I had many experiences with domestic workers, they took care of my siblings and me in our early
childhood, and I can still observe their conditions today. I am particularly interested in their plight even
there is now a law that should protect their rights and eliminate abuses concerning their occupation. Based
on my observations and experiences with them, without stating statistics and formal studies, I think it is
safe to say that domestic workers are one of the people whose labor is commodified and abused,
especially those hired informally by many families. According to ILO's 99 th Session, Report IV, in 2010:
Decent work for domestic workers, "domestic work is one of the oldest and most important occupations
for many women in many countries;" however, it is still "undervalued." Moreover, domestic workers'
workplaces are their employers' homes, most often with very close proximity to household members'
family and personal lives, especially when the domestic workers live with their employers. This situation
makes their working conditions complex and challenging to inspect by authorities. Thus, making workers
are more susceptible to different kinds of abuse. Additionally, domestic workers usually come from
poverty-stricken or relatively needy families; they are not well-informed of their rights and typically do
not have the means of accessing these kinds of information.

The ILO Convention No. 189 was ratified by the Philippines in 2012 and Republic Act No.
10361, also known as the "Domestic Workers Act," in 2013. According to ILO's website, the Philippines
was the second country to ratify this convention since it was released in 2011. Per Domestic Workers
Convention (2011), there should be a minimum age required for domestic workers consistent with the
provisions of "Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and the Worst Forms of Child Labour
Convention, 1999 (No. 182), and not lower than the established by national laws and regulations for
workers generally." In regard to this, according to the R.A. 10361, "it shall be unlawful to employ any
person below fifteen (15) years of age as a domestic worker." However, per the Department of Labor and
Employment's ("DOLE") 2019 survey, "about 4% of 4,500 are child domestic workers, of whom 0.4% are
below 15 years old." It is noted that "child domestic workers" are under 18 years old and above the
minimum age requirement, in this case, 15 years old.

Moreover, according to the same survey, out of the 1.4 million domestic workers or
"kasambahay" only 2.5% (approximately 35,000) have written employment contracts, "which is required
under the law." Per the ILO Convention No. 189, it is required recommended that the domestic worker
and the employee have an explicit agreement of the terms of employment, "preferably through written
contracts." One of the reasons for this deficiency, as far as I have observed, is that local domestic helpers
are usually hired informally by their employers through referral. There are even instances that employers
from Metro Manila or other big cities would look for a kasambahay from the province through referral
their friends or family. These many employers prefer this way of hiring to eliminate hiring fees in PEA.
Considering that the kasambahays hired from the provinces came from low-income families, without
access to information regarding their rights and responsibilities, they would not demand a contract from
their employers unless the employers initiated. This could also result in an abused domestic worker, as the
ILO Convention No. 189 and the R.A. 10361 have set guidelines on what the contract between the
employers and domestic workers should include, such as, but not limited to, remuneration, regular work
hours, paid leaves, and scope of work. As mentioned above, since most domestic workers live in the
employer's house, their scope of work can be very heavy if no contracts or formal agreements were made
concerning this. In relation to the above, the R.A. 10361 did not mention or include a provision relating
to the limitations of housework a domestic worker can do. There should be different categories of
domestic helpers, such as childcare, cleaning, laundry, cooking, gardening, etc. Some employers tend to
give all these responsibilities to their domestic workers with bare minimum salary.
 According to the ILO Convention No. 189, a Member should take appropriate measures
according to law to ensure that the domestic workers, like the other workers, have social security
protection and maternity benefits. However, per the aforenoted DOLE survey in 2019, only "83% of the
1.4 million [domestic helpers] are not covered by any social security benefit," and only 36% of the live-in
domestic workers work 7 days a week without a rest day. Lack of social security protection could be
caused by an informal employment system, as mentioned above, and an absence of a contract between the
employer and the domestic workers.

Moreover, according to the DOLE's National Wages and Productivity Commission ("NWPC"), as
of April 2021, the current minimum wage of domestic helpers in Metro Manila is Pesos 5,000 per month
and a minimum wage of Pesos 2,5 00 to Pesos 4,000 per month in different regions. Additionally,
according to R.A. 10361, Article IV, "domestic workers shall be entitled to an aggregate daily rest period
of eight (8) hours per day," and should be "entitled to at least twenty-four (24) consecutive hours of rest a
week." Based on personal calculations and understanding, considering that the employers are obeying the
R.A. 10361 provisions, this means that a domestic worker would work 6 days a week, and with 16 hours a
day work shift, and will only earn a minimum of Pesos 5,000 per month (in Metro Manila), divided by
416 hours a month, equals 12 pesos per hour. The minimum wage for other workers in Metro Manila is
Pesos 537 for 8 hours (approximately Pesos 67 per hour). How can this salary be fair compared to the
other workers in general? One of the reasons I can think about is that domestic workers are undervalued
because most of them came from very underprivileged families. Some employers may believe that these
workers would accept almost any amount of money for their service. Some of the solutions are that to
make the domestic helpers more dignified are by offering them readily available training about the work
they would be performing and disseminating information effectively regarding the rights of the domestic
workers and the responsibilities of employers. According to an article published through the Business
Mirror's website, on December 18, 2020, DOLE "is now eyeing to raise the monthly minimum wage of
household service workers, or kasambahay, nationwide to Pesos 6,000 a month," and "Labor Secretary
Silvestre H. Bello III said he considers the proposed amount reasonable since the employment of HSW is
considered a luxury." I agree with the statement that hiring a domestic worker is a luxury. However, if the
minimum wage of Pesos 6,000 monthly for domestic helpers nationwide is still very inhumane
considering the nature of their work and the provisions of R.A. 10361, with only 8 hours rest per day and
6-day week work. I do not think it is in line with the ILO Convention No. 189's statement regarding
giving domestic helpers the same or equal conditions that other workers experience.

The issues regarding local and migrant domestic workers are too broad and prevalent to be
discussed in one sitting. However, I think that all the deficiencies I have mentioned above are
interconnected with each other. One problem causes other problems in this matter; the informal
employment/recruitment of local domestic helpers, the lack of effective dissemination of information
about the rights and responsibilities of the domestic helpers and their employers, and the complexity of
this job that makes inspection is practically challenging. There should be an ad hoc committee that
should think of ways to ensure that R.A. 10361 and ILO Convention No. 189 are being met by all parties
(domestic workers, employers, and PEA). I think that there should be a special hotline only for domestic
workers and employers that can be utilized for inquiries and other emergency concerns concerning abuse
by either of the parties.

Moreover, the government should think of ways to hire and work as domestic workers, more
readily available and easy to understand. Lastly, joining unions and organizations for domestic workers
should be encouraged. So, the kasambahays would have a community, be more dignified, and would be
able to practice collective bargaining to raise their salaries, to put forward more of their concerns that are
usually not heard by the government.
References:

C189 - Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). Convention C189 - Domestic Workers
Convention, 2011 (No. 189). (n.d.). https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB
%3A12100%3A0%3A%3ANO%3A%3AP12100_ILO_CODE%3AC189.

Current Monthly Minimum Wage For Domestic Workers. National Wages Productivity Commission.
(n.d.). https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/stats/current-monthly-minimum-wage-for-domestic-workers/.

DOLE and PSA Survey: 1.4 million kasambahays in the country, 72% on live-out arrangement. National
Wages Productivity Commission. (n.d.). https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/press_room/dole-and-psa-
survey-1-4-million-kasambahays-in-the-country-72-on-live-out-arrangement/.

International Labour Organisation. (2010). In Decent work for domestic workers: fourth item on the
agenda. Geneva.

Medenilla, S. (2020, December 17). DOLE chief eyeing P6,000 monthly pay to all 'kasambahay'
nationwide: Samuel Medenilla. BusinessMirror. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/12/18/dole-
chief-eyeing-p6000-monthly-pay-to-all-kasambahay-nationwide/.

Republic Act No. 10361: An Act Instituting Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers.
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (2013, January 18).
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/01/18/republic-act-no-10361/.